Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (11/26/2017)

2. Sumire Natsu vs. Shiki Shibusawa

This is the first time Shiki has shown an edge against an opponent, she uses a chokehold and smudges Sumire's make up with a dirty cloth. Sumire was talking a lot of trash and drawing so much heat in this match, she's a wonderful heel.

**3/4

3. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Hiromi Mimura, Konami & Starlight Kid

**1/4

4. Queen's Quest (HZK, Momo Watanabe & AZM) vs. Kelly Klein, Bea Priestley & Scarlett Bordeaux

**1/4

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Chardonnay

I thought this was fine. Io was good, she sold the leg work well, Chardonnay stuck to the basics which made her side of things not so interesting. There is a moment towards the end where Chardonnay's going hold-to-hold with leg-targeting submissions that was nice, if only she had worked that way from the start.

**1/4

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 7/16/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・300 (7/16/2017)

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Aasa Maika & Mitsuru Konno

Enjoyable clash between Emi Sakura's veteran and rookie students. The intensity from Konno as she was locking in those submission holds was great, she looked like a real killer. I wonder where she learned these lucha libre llaves. Aasa's sessions with Riho and「Kotori」were full energy and a lot of fun, some of the stuff looked contrived, but I respect the creativity.

***

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Natsu Sumire) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 11/25/2017)

Stardom - Best of the Goddesses (11/25/2017)

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

The Oedo Tai in-fighting is super fun and has added an interesting dynamic to their matches. All of the pairings here were great and everyone did their thing -- there's a hard-hitting segment between Hana and HZK that I was especially into. Great main event for an otherwise weak show.

***1/4

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rina Yamashita (WAVE, 11/15/2017)

WAVE - Weekday WAVE Vol. 111.5 (11/15/2017)

Regina di WAVE Championship #1 Contendership Tournament - Semi-Finals: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rina Yamashita

This is the most impressive Nozaki has looked since returning. She was going at it with Rina. Her movements and emotes are always striking to me, and she is very calculating with that sleeper hold. Yamashita held the match together, and they crafted a great story around Nozaki's dangerous sleeper.

***1/2

Stardom - Best of the Goddesses (11/19/2017)

2. Konami, Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora)

***

3. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

**

4. Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM & HZK)

**1/4

5. Hiromi Mimura vs. Sumire Natsu

**

6. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) (c) vs. Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein

I like the image of Hana & Kagetsu holding the gold, but I haven't been impressed by their reign so far. This match was a step in the right direction. Klein & Bea's workover session was good, and the crowd was strongly behind Oedo Tai (even though they were cheating!). Good match.

***

7. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Io Shirai

Bito announced her retirement shortly after this match and you could see that she was very emotional, but I still felt her performance was lacking. Her strikes were great, Io sold them like crazy, but I didn't find her compelling. Io on the other hand was incredible, her counter to the B Driver was brilliant. I'm interested in her as White Belt champ again. Solid main event; nothing outstanding.

***

OZ Academy - Yokohama Undersea Unexplored Expedition (10/29/2017)

4. Hikaru Shida vs. Rina Yamashita

If Rina wins with the Splash Mountain, she will inherit the move from Dynamite Kansai (who was watching on commentary). Shida ambushes Rina at the start and tries to hit the move herself -- this was the highlight of the match. Shida's workover could have been better, and Rina's comeback felt completely empty. The pacing was off, too. Disappointing match. They had a much better one in WAVE last year.

bad

6. OZ Academy Tag Team Championship: MK4 (AKINO & Kaho Kobayashi) (c) vs. Maya Yukihi & Mayumi Ozaki

This the typical Sekigun match full of fuckery and violence. Mitsuhisa Sunabe running in to help Ozaki at the end was hilarious. Maya-obachan becomes a double champion, having won of the Ice Ribbon tag championship earlier in the day. Good moment.

**3/4

7. OZ Academy Openweight Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto (c) vs. Yoshiko

Standard Hiroyo style main event with back and forth movez, but Yoshiko is an interesting enough opponent to make things feel fresh (for me, anyway). Hiroyo's trying everything to hold on to her belt, digging deeper within her moveset and going back to the drawing board a couple of times, but Yoshiko keeps returning fire. There's a strong sense of struggle; good selling too.

***1/2

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Smile YES Shinjuku (11/23/2017)

1. Maho Kurone vs. Yuki Kamifuku

The work was much better in this match than their previous match, the character work, I mean... once they got to the wrestling portion, it lost me.

*1/2

2.  Ito Respect Army (Maki Ito & Mizuki) vs. Nodoka-oneesan & Marika Kobashi

**

3. Hyper Misao vs. Rika Tatsumi

***

4. Saki-sama vs. Azusa Takigawa

**1/2

5. TOKYO Princess of Princess Championship Next Challenger & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship: Yuu (c) vs. Miyu Yamashita

Yuu is on another level when it comes to making her offense look legit. I was wincing at some of the things she was doing to her opponent. Miyu went through hell, her chest reddened from Yuu's chops. She fought hard for the comeback and it felt earned. What a match.

****1/2

6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championship: MiraClians (Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima) (c) vs. Super Milk Combination (Nonoko & Yuna Manase)

Fun match between two fun teams. I thought the boob double teams were clever. I didn't feel strongly about the closer between Shoko and Nonoko, would've been much better if Yuka was there. I think she could have put together a more compelling finishing run. Good match, still.

***